


Out of Sight, Out of Mind

by NoPerson



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, M/M, Probably a happy ending, klance, out of body experience, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-12 03:52:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7919485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoPerson/pseuds/NoPerson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lance is in trouble, big trouble. He's practically alone and at this rate, things are not looking good for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out of Sight, Out of Mind

**Author's Note:**

> Though there are about a million other things I need to be doing, this popped in my head around midnight and wouldn't leave until i wrote it down. Therefore, I present you with this! Hope you enjoy!

Lance wakes up in his room.

It’s dark and unusually cold and he’s lying on top of his covers, something that he would only do back home on the hottest of nights. His vision is blurred and every muscle in his body aches with an intensity that could drive him insane. He feels too weak to even attempt movement so he just lies in bed for a while, squinting his eyes in the direction of the ceiling as he tries to think. 

He knows that something is wrong. He can sense it in the way his memory holds precise gaps, in the lapses he has when concerning what has happened in the past few days. He can’t remember yesterday, or the day before, or even what day it currently is. He knows this should worry him, he knows that he should probably be pacing his room with concern until he finds it in himself to run and find the other paladins, but he can’t. His body and mind seem to be disagreeing with each other. 

His brain may as well be mush. Whenever he gets remotely close to answering his own questions, his brain decides to implode and act like a bowl of food goo being constantly stirred with a spoon.

Eventually, Lance gives up. There’s no point in thinking when nothing helps.

. . . 

The next time his eyes peel open, barely anything has changed. 

His body is still heavy and his mind is still a swirling pool that offers no help at all, but he actually manages to lift his head from his pillow and look around his dark room. Despite all of his personal belongings remaining where he left them, there’s a certain unfamiliarity that Lance feels whenever he looks at them. He feels as if he’s one hundred miles away, staring at someone else’s belongings through the lenses of a pair of binoculars. He can make out what they are, see their shapes silhouetted in the darkness, but there’s a certain sense of detachment that makes him feel out of place in his own room.

That feeling leaves a bitter taste in his mouth and makes his stomach churn with unease.

Lance falls back asleep again with that unease still eating away at him.

. . . 

The third time, Lance starts to think something is up.

The ache has started to recede from his bones, fading away slowly and leaving behind a trail of sore muscles all the way from his feet to his head.

He doesn’t know how long it’s been since he first woke up, he doesn’t know how long it had been before then. No one has entered his room. No one has visited him. He’s been all alone this whole time.

A cold and painful fear wraps around his heart in a serpentine embrace and grips him tightly. He’s afraid no one will ever come. The rational part of his mind chastises him with an exasperated tone that speaks for the ridiculousness of his team ever forgetting about him. The irrational part that freezes his body with panic is much easier to listen to as it screams and shouts how easy it is for his useless self to be forgotten. Lance can’t move, he can’t fight it, he can’t only lie there and pray that these agonizing thoughts aren’t real.

This time when he sleeps, it’s unwanted and terrifying and he only begs for everything to be okay.

. . .

On the fourth awakening, Lance rises.

He’s able sit up relatively easily, with only some stiffness in his torso causing him mild discomfort he can brush off. He swings his legs over the side and relishes in the sweet satisfaction that is movement. After who knows how long, it feels incredible to switch positions.

Even though he’s still blissfully admiring how his muscles tense and relax at his command, Lance starts to notice that a few things are odd. Despite having lied down in it what is likely to end up being a long period of time, his bed is perfectly made and the sheets appear to be crisp and undisturbed. He’s also fully clothed, from his shoes to his jacket, though he knows he would never let himself go to sleep without following a precise routine, including intricate facial care and changing into more comfortable clothes. 

For now, Lance chooses to shrug off these strange inconsistencies despite their lingering presence in the back of his mind. At the moment, he just wants to storm the castle and figure out where the quiznak everyone has been.

His legs are a little unsteady when he stands, but he adjusts within minutes and hurries out of his room, a frown on his face and trouble in his eyes.

He weaves his way in and out of every room and every hallway. Each time a door hisses open, he stomps inside with the intention of chewing out whoever resides in there, but every location has so far turned up empty. Though he’s the only one around, Lance tries to hide his mounting disappointment deeper in his chest with each failure so he can keep his hopes up just a little while longer. 

Lance knocks on and looks inside of all of the paladins’ rooms. No one.

He searches every inch of the dining room and kitchen. Nothing.

At this point, Lance’s original doubts are starting to rise. Would everyone really leave him behind?

His first success comes in the form of Pidge sitting on the circular couch in the lounging area. She’s got a lot of miscellaneous equipment hooked to a couple computers on her lap and on the couch. Her expression is fiercely concentrated as she glares at the screens alternately and types at speeds Lance can’t comprehend. She has her headphones on, blocking out the sound of Lance entering the room.

“Hey!” He shouts with relief. “Man, am I glad to see you!”

Pidge doesn’t respond, her headphones obviously doing their job properly. 

Lance bites his bottom lip and contemplates what he should do. He could just go right up to Pidge and get some answers, but she looks pretty busy and if she’s here, then everyone else must be around somewhere. With one last look at Pidge, Lance walks back out of the room with a new determination in his heart. Now that he knows the team’s still around, this search will be much easier.

As he’s making his way down the hall, he perks up even more at the sight of Hunk. His face is scrunched together, obviously deep in thought. He’s staring carefully at and electronic pad clutched tightly in his hands, probably a mechanical manual of some sort. Tears of joy start to pool in Lance’s eyes at the sight of his best friend. 

“Hunk!” He exclaims. “Where’ve you been?”

His heart breaks a little when Hunk doesn’t even twitch. He doesn’t look up, he just keeps on walking and reading. Lance even has to jump off to the side to avoid getting knocked down. He can only watch as Hunk walks down the hall and takes a swift turn to enter the room Lance had just left Pidge in. 

He tries not to let this little incident bother him, but it’s a little difficult when his best friend just walked past him without even a thought in his direction. But Hunk is always getting pulled into his work, this is completely normal. This is fine. Lance can deal with this.

He continues on his quest and makes his way to the infirmary. Weirdly enough, the door is already open and Lance feels a little shard of treacherous joy creep into his heart. He’s about ready to march in with a cocky smirk on his face when he hears voices. The mischievous part of him takes control, pulling him off to the side of the entryway and flattening him against the wall in prime eavesdropping position. 

“-soon.” He hears Shiro finish saying with a calm tone.

There’s a heavy sigh and the rustle of clothes as someone adjusts. “I know.” Lance hears Keith say and his heart skips a frustrating beat at the sound. “But how soon, Shiro? It’s already been a week.”

“It’ll be okay, Keith.” Shiro reassures him. 

“Will it be?” Keith asks, his voice cracking as he sniffles. Lance feels himself freeze. Keith must be crying. He didn’t even know that was possible. “Soon could end up turning into forever.”

“Then have a little faith.” Shiro says with a smile in his words. “I’m pretty sure you’re underestimating him right now.”

Keith snorts wetly and Lance almost chuckles out loud. “Don’t I always?”

“Fair point.” Shiro sighs. “Just try.”

Lance finds his curiosity piqued so he creeps forward slowly and peeks around the edge of the doorframe. Keith and Shiro are standing in the middle of the collection of healing pods, right behind the control console. Shiro’s expression is soft but he’s obviously concerned if Lance goes by the tightness around his eyes. Keith looks worse for wear, one arm wrapped around his stomach and the other placed securely in a white sling. His eyes are puffy, both of them showing signs of crying while the right one displays a fading yellow bruise. 

Lance wonders why Keith is injured, and why he’s even on his feet. He looks absolutely terrible and defeated contrary to his usual aura of self-confidence and pride. 

Lance would probably spend longer than necessary ogling at Keith if he didn’t have a mission to accomplish. With a deep breath, Lance steps into the middle of the doorway, his mouth open and poised to make a snarky comment, when something catches his attention.

While he had been spying on Shiro and Keith, the left half of the room had been obscured by the edge of the doorway but now that he’s standing in the open, everything is visible to him. 

Lance doesn’t know whether or not to vomit, faint, or do both, possibly at the same time.

Because in the third healing pod from the left, the only one currently being used, Lance sees himself.


End file.
